Keynotes & Workshops · Ulcca Joshi Hansen

Keynotes & workshops

One throughline. Many rooms.

Every session starts from the same conviction: the human capacities we were trained to undervalue now decide how organisations and communities meet what's coming. Ulcca builds each talk around your theme, your sector and the moment your people are in. The keynotes below are samples of how that work lands in different rooms.

Sample keynotes

Hope Is a Muscle^™

Why the capacities we called soft now decide what comes next

Most of us wait for the evidence before we let ourselves hope. Ulcca makes the case for hope as a discipline that people and organisations can train, test and lean on under pressure. Drawing on futures thinking, systems science and a life lived between cultures, she gives audiences a clearer read on the moment they're in and something specific to practise on Monday.

Best forConference openers and closers in any sector

The Human Edge

What stays yours when the machine can do the rest

AI is very good at the work we spent centuries training people to do like machines. What it can't do is decide what matters or notice what's missing. Using research on the two distinct ways humans pay attention, Ulcca shows leaders where human judgment adds the most value, why so many organisations train it out of their people, and how to build it back.

Best forFinance, corporate and technology audiences, and responsible-AI gatherings

Navigating the In-Between

Leading when the map runs out

Ulcca grew up between cultures on four continents and learned early how to operate without a fixed set of rules. That turned out to be preparation for leading now, when the old playbooks no longer fit and the new ones haven't been written. Leaders leave with a navigator's approach: how to read conditions as they shift, and how to keep a team moving before the path is clear.

Best forLeadership programmes, associations and teams in transition

Formats

Keynote 45–60 minutes
Plenary or closing
Fireside conversation
Panel hosting and moderation
Live Q&A with a headline speaker

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Workshops

Sample workshops

Where a keynote opens a room, a workshop gives a group time to do the work. Each theme runs as a half-day or full-day session, on its own or as a sequence.

01

Leading Through Endings

Restructures, mergers and AI adoption all end something, whether a role, a way of working or a shared sense of who the organisation is. When that loss goes unnamed, change stalls. Using the Two Loops model, this session helps leaders name what's ending and design the transition with it in view.

Best forOrganisations mid-restructure, merger or strategic reset

02

Getting Your Attention Back

Scattered focus across a team usually comes from the environment people work inside: the tools, the meeting load, the unspoken norms. This session treats attention as something an organisation designs, then identifies what to change and what to protect.

Best forTeams stretched by tools, notifications and meetings

03

Futures You Can Act On

Leaders are routinely asked to plan for a future nobody can predict. This session teaches futures practice: reading what's already in motion, separating possible from probable, and turning a picture of a better future into decisions you can make this quarter.

Best forStrategy teams, boards and planning retreats

04

Small Acts, Dynamic Systems

People inside large systems often feel they have no leverage. This session maps control, influence and concern, shows why machine-style management keeps failing living organisations, and helps each person find where their own leverage sits.

Best forAll-staff gatherings and leaders without formal authority

Every session is shaped around your theme and your people. Send the brief and Ulcca will come back with a shape.

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What organisers say

The response in the room.

"

Ulcca is an insightful and powerful presenter and her ability to frame and lead a panel discussion is among the best I have seen at any conference. She also hosted a live question and answer session with our keynote speaker, Isabel Wilkerson. She was well received by an audience of 4,000, and she was easy to work with, authentic and personable.

Munir ShivjiExecutive Director, American Montessori Society

"

Dr. Hansen brought her depth of expertise and insight to a brilliant presentation that captivated our audience and left them inspired, which is exactly what one hopes for in a keynote. She took us on a journey, weaving together history, philosophy, science and educational thought.

Wendy Shenk-EvansExecutive Director, Montessori Public Policy Institute

"

She hit the right notes for us in combining what she knows and brings to the table, and still was able to ensure that her message was relevant to our group and tied to our conference theme. What a joy to work with, and what a great asset to our event.

Peter MasonVP Communications, Colorado League of Charter Schools

Booking

Start a conversation about what comes next.

For speaking, advisory and workshop inquiries, share your event date, your audience, and what you're hoping people walk away with. It helps Ulcca respond quickly and well.